"After the beep, please record your message"

After a conversation with one of my regular customers about recording guitar and vocals using an old reel to reel tape machine it occurred to me how far things have come in the relatively short time I've worked in music retail.

When I started at Cookes 7 years ago (wow is it really that long?) recording was primarily done on digital 'portastudios' by the likes of Boss & Tascam, usually with a built in CD burner to transfer your compositions from the onboard Hard Drive, which was quite small by today's standards. Because of this, some of the smaller units could be augmented with SD cards (the Boss BR600 boasted an impressive for the time 1GB SD card included in the box).  USB connectivity became the norm and the units became smaller with less inbuilt storage relying instead on being used more like an audio notepad to take down ideas before being put onto PC for editing.

Now the audio interface is king, with cheap laptops providing portable solutions that have gargantuan amounts of space to record onto. Focusrite have a great range of USB & FireWire interfaces to cater for even the most demanding recording needs, offering professional quality units at a very reasonable price.  Studio quality microphones are now even more affordable with people like Audio Technica giving us the great AT range from £89 and now even offering the AT2020USB, a mic with built in audio interface that plug in directly via USB all for £149.

So the possibilities are (almost) endless limited by only your imagination or the ability to get that killer riff recorded for prosperity.

Steven @ Cookes

guitars@cookes.co.uk

I often get asked the question, particularly from my younger customers "Which is the best drumkit?" Over the years we have stocked most of the major brands including Pearl, Mapex, Gretsch, Sonor, Yamaha, Tama, Premier and more and I've also been lucky enough to try the other, more bespoke premium brands such as DW, Spaun, Orange County and such at the various music shows I've attended. All of these manufacturers are competing for your money and each of them will try to offer something new and different to get you on board.

The best sounding kits I've played haven't necessarily been the most expensive. In fact the best sounding kits are usually the ones where time has been taken to maximise the sound of the drums by careful tuning and correct head selection. So whether your drums cost you £50 or £5000 take time to learn (ideally from a drum teacher) about drum tone, tuning and the different sounds that a drumhead can offer. These days there are plenty of products on the market to help with tuning from the Evans torque key to the new Tune-Bot digital tuning gauge. Lets not forget that the acoustics of the room you playing your drums in will also have a huge effect on the tone.

So going back to the question, "Which is the best drumkit?", well it depends what you're looking for. All Of the brands we have supplied offer something for the beginner through to the more advanced player. Of the drumkits we are currently supplying the most of, Pearl have a reputation for superb build quality (particularly the hardware), Gretsch offer something different with a retro-feel and Mapex continue to offer excellent value for money. All will offer a range of finishes from a subtle clear, lacquered, wood finish to something a bit more eye-catching (Lime Green Sparkle Pearl Masters anyone?)

Now where did I leave my sticks?....

Simon.

Meet Howie Marsh.

Hellooooooo!

I’m Howie and I’m the newest member of the team, having started in February 2013.
I’d thought that I would introduce myself.
For 15 years I was a professional sound engineer, having started with homemade speakers (with parts bought from this very shop), to working with many prestigious artistes that range from the late Humphrey Lyttleton, to Toyah Wilcox, to Shed Seven! I toured provincial theatres for several years with various tribute shows, with a few jaunts to far of foreign climates entertaining the troops during conflicts. I’m a veteran of many folk festivals, having been associated with Reedham Ferry Folk Festival , Folk on The Pier at Cromer and Gt. Yarmouth Maritime Festival. I am currently Vice Chairman of the committee that runs the long running Gorleston Clifftop Festival, that attracts up to 30,000 visitors at the end of July every year.
If you don’t know, Cookes sound and light showroom is up the stairs to the rear of the shop and has recently had a refit. Sound systems, microphones and lighting can all be demonstrated with ease.
I feel that the department had been run down to a degree, and it’s my intention to restore it to its former glory!

Come and find me!

Howie

Calling all Norfolk based guitar tutors - your county needs you!

Hi all, Ben again with a heart-felt request to existing and potential guitar tutors!

The sales of acoustic, electric and classical guitars to 'first-time' guitarists has absolutely sky-rocketed in the last few weeks here at Cookes. Must be something to do with the weather I guess? Anyway, it seems that virtually every single one of the proud new owners plans on looking at YouTube or finding a book and teaching themselves a few chords.

"NO!" says I, "Please try and find someone that can sit with you and show you what they know, even if it's just three chords. It's very easy to adopt a poor technique and very difficult to shift it once you've learnt it!"

And this is where I (finally) reach my point. Back in the day our noticeboard was chock-a-block with people offering tuition services for all instruments to all players of different ages and abilities. We had a purge a little while back by phoning some of the tutors advertising on our board that we hadn't heard from for a while. Most were either a) not teaching anymore, b) no longer contactable and, in one case, c) stark raving dead!

So, I've got all these new players who will probably watch a video or two, read a couple of pages of a guitar tuition book and then realise they won't be headlining at Wembley any time soon. The guitar goes back in the case, finds a cosy perch on top of the wardrobe or under the bed and then stays there, unplayed, for the next 20 years and is discovered by the next generation who do exactly the same thing! Is this what we want for East Anglian musicians? What if Andy James or Ed Sheeran put their first guitars down because they couldn't quite get Smoke On The Water right?

So action is being taken. I implore all guitar tutors to get in touch with me with a view to becoming a CAT - a Cookes Approved Tutor - so that Norwich and Norfolk continues to turn out new, fresh, vibrant guitarists to fill the amazing venues, pubs and clubs that surround us. Here's the rub; we give our new customers a list of CATs for them to call up, chat with and arrange lessons. This is our 'thank you' to the tutors for offering a service that keeps guitarists coming back through our doors and will hopefully put some money in your pockets! No jumping through hoops, no costs, just referrals of potential customers. And now for the really juicy bit! We will supply all CATs with a fistful of CAT Vouchers that entitles their students to 5% off the ticket prices of anything we sell at Cookes, be it a single plectrum or a five grand sound desk and PA system. NOT ONLY THAT, we will then credit the account of the CAT whose name shows on the voucher with 5% of their student's final bill for you to redeem at Cookes as well! So you get some tuition money, your student gets a discount, we get repeat business and you get money off too; I believe the correct term for that is a WIN/WIN/WIN/WIN situation!

So, to become a CAT, we just need to know the following details from you so we can pass them on:

- Your name
- Your best contact number
- The postcode(s) you will be working from (eg, NR2, NR10, etc)
- The age ranges you are willing to work with
- The skill levels you are willing to work with
- The style(s) of music you are able to teach
- Whether you have a current Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, formerly known as a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check. Not essential but could sway a parent's decision in choosing you over another tutor.

Sorry about this huge blog, the next one will be all fluffy and light as usual. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE get in touch if you want to become a CAT or if you know someone who might do - let's keep Norfolk guitarists playing and the venues full!

Much love,

Ben x

01603 623563
ben@cookes.co.uk

When did you last clean your guitar? Honestly?

Morning all,

This is Ben with my first blog for the new, improved and deliciously spangly new Cookes website. Welcome along, make yourself a nice steamy brew, take a nice comfortable seat and we shall begin.  Well, what a week it’s been!  I’ve finally managed to clear the huge raft of guitar repairs that all poured in through the door over the last seven days.  It seems that everybody has collectively decided to put right that dodgy axe so that it’s ready just in time for summer.

You know, S-U-M-M-E-R.  It’s when the hot yellow thing in the sky is meant to make us feel all warm and fuzzy.

Anyway, I’ve installed a pickup on an acoustic guitar, made two basses and five guitars playable again and cleaned bodies, polished frets and oiled the fretboards of everything else that moved.  String action and poor intonation is a big bugbear for most guitarists and, if you know you’re in for a disappointing jam on a guitar that fights you every step of the way, these things can put you off even wanting to pick it up in the first place.

Guitars can also get pretty disgusting when they get regular use or haven’t been used for a while.  If yours is looking manky and needs a good scrub, if it feels like you are playing a cheese grater or if the electrics on it make funny noises when you touch it in a certain way, bring it in a let me see if I can make it feel like the first day you bought it again!  A full service costs £35 plus a new set of strings; not prohibitively expensive and it could just inspire you to pick it up a little more often so you can finally nail that solo you’ve been trying to work on.  Yes, that one, where that bit is meant to go ‘bididdly doo wakka weeeyooo’ but currently just goes ‘meh’.

Hmm, I think I need another coffee.

Take care all, keep on rocking!

Ben. x

ben@cookes.co.uk

It's been a busy week here at Cookes...

It's been a busy week here at Cookes.  In between serving customers and setting up guitars we've been beavering away at the website, adding more of the in stock products and everything we've got coming in.  Soon we'll have a comprehensive list of everything that is available to us, I'm even going through all our guitar spares and accessories, so if you need that spring or screw to finish off your axe you'll be able to tell in an instant if we've got it.

In the meantime please don't hesitate to get in touch if there is a particular instrument you want or need help sourcing spare parts.  This goes for the drum & PA departments too, being a 'bricks and mortar' store has it's advantages and our cache of spares will usually resurrect most items that are in need of a little TLC.  Tom offers a great 'Deep Clean' service for kits that have lost their sparkle & Ben can work wonders on that guitar that's been sitting in the corner of the spare room

If in doubt pop in and have a chat about it, we've nearly always got a pot of coffee on the go and a plentiful supply of teabags.

Steven @ Cookes

guitars@cookes.co.uk

So finally, after months of waiting, our new website has arrived. After looking at a number of website providers and what they offered, we have settled with the same company that looks after our in-store Point-of-Sale system. This means we can integrate the two quickly and easily. However, although the foundations of the website are in place, our team now have a big job on their hands.

Every item that we sell online at Cookes Norwich has to be furnished with extra information to help our online customers find it. From pictures of the product (in the correct format of course!) to weights and dimensions, the team are currently trawling through pages upon pages of stock to ensure all of the details are available for the customer.

One of the many additional benefits from our new website is that we can now put product videos alongside product descriptions. So if you want to see the latest Pearl drum gear or Tama drum pedals, demonstrated by our in-store drum salesman (and stand-up comedian) Tom Toggle or the latest Boss multi-fx pedals or Fender Telecasters, being used and explained by our guitar specialist Ben Homan, keep an eye out for these videos on the product pages and on our Facebook page.

All of this takes time though of course, so please bear with us, have a look around the new site www.cookes.co.uk and let us know what you think could be improved. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for product reviews, latest news and general music chat.

Simon @ Cookes
drums@cookes.co.uk